The past two weeks that I had teaching were incredible. I had no idea that it would be such a rewarding experience. On the first day I was extremely hesitant after seeing the cabins we were going to be living in for two weeks and was very nervous to teach. As the week went on I became more comfortable with cold showers and began to love the kids. Every day the kids learned more and more and got excited about what we were doing. It was amazing to see that what we were teaching was clicking with them and they wanted to learn and explore more. Each day the kids became more attached to us and it was so cute to see them in the halls and get a bear hug. Kids who I didn't spend much time with were giving me long goodbye hugs and it made me realize that I was making a bigger impact on their lives than I thought. At the beginning of the trip I would have never thought I would have been sad to leave Cinnamon Bay, but it really was a bittersweet goodbye. I am so grateful that I could come on this trip and have such a meaningful experience.

Final Reflection The experience of going to St. John was extremely memorable and a great learning experience. The first few days was hard as we had to learn how to teach the students while keeping them interested. As the first week continued we began to build relationships with students who began to learn about. It was an amazing experience to be able to talk to the 8th graders and learn what their culture. It was interesting to hear about what they did after school and on the weekends, as I was shocked at the similarities yet also by the fact that they did not go to the beach on the weekend very often. We spent a great weekend in St. John and got the opportunity to snorkel on Saturday, which allowed me to see the type of marine life that lived in St. John. As the second weekend began we continued working with our individual students to help them create their own individual final projects. The relationships I built with the kids I will never forget and truly allowed me to realize the great impact I can have on someone by doing something so small.

Final Reflection Days before I had to leave to Saint John for the One Laptop per Child trip, I was beyond anxious. I caught myself in an overwhelming pool of “what-if’s.” I thought I was crazy to think I could actually leave the comforts of my own home and travel to an island to teach a group of children. Looking back, I have to say these past two weeks, although they forcefully pushed me out of my comfort zone, truly gave me one of the best experiences to remember. From surprise cockroaches to flooded bathrooms, this trip kept me on my toes. I was never an outdoorsy person to begin with, so the nights were quite challenging. Each day we encountered a new critter. The first night kicked off with a scorpion in our room and a grasshopper that landed on one of our heads. In all honesty, the bugs worried me more than anything else, but I was not going to let that destroy all my hope.The real token of this trip was the unique opportunity of working with the kids. At first, I felt very awkward, but as Ms. Murakami said, I had to understand that we were like a breath of fresh air for these students, who don’t receive individual attention very often. I found that they enjoyed one-on-one teaching and being able to work at their own pace. Creativity isn’t emphasized very often, and I was honored to motivate my group of students to develop their own unique project ideas. It was amazing to see how fast someone could learn if they truly wanted to.Joshua, an eighth grade student who I worked with, showed me parts of Scratch that I never even knew. Janus and Lionel from the first fourth grade class were the sweetest kids I had ever met. At first, I could tell they were a little shy to speak with me (as was I!), but toward the end of the week, they began to open up to me. I learned about their families, brothers and sisters, and paintball competitions. Le’Kayla from the second fourth grade class was another one of the fantastic students I worked with. In many ways she was like me: quiet at first but wild toward the end. Her drawings were stunning, and she constantly had new ideas for her project! It was very hard to say goodbye to her. When I saw her sparkling eyes tear up, something inside me deflated. I knew she took a piece of my heart with her. Lastly, the fifth grade students, having been taught by last year’s group, were the greatest handful! It took more motivation to put their creativity to work, but I was very happy with their results. The mazes were very colorful and completed successfully. I will never forget their funny comments and smiling faces. As I said before, the last day was difficult. I kept reminding the kids that their futures were bright and that they could do anything they wanted to as long as they put their bright ideas into action. This trip taught me two very important lessons: 1) that I should truly value the hard work that my teachers put in to make me who I am today; and 2) how far a little motivation can go. These students, who lived with completely different conditions than me, needed support. They needed someone to tell them not to give up and to explore more. I am so honored that I could take part in extending the outlooks of these students who can go so far. All in all, these two weeks proved transformative both for myself and the kids. I could not be more grateful for this eye-opening experience.

FridayToday was our last day teaching at the J.E.S.S. school. It was filled with many sad goodbyes, it was so nice to see how close the kids got with us even in just the short two weeks. In the 8th grade, the first period of the day, the kids had a show and tell of their final projects. This was very rewarding for us teachers because many of the kids were very excited. After the show and tell the remaining time was used to take pictures and say a final goodbye. After the 8th grade we went to the 4th grade. The 4th grade class was spend as a show and tell period as well. It was so cute to see the little kids complement each other's projects and smile at each other's work. The good byes for the fourth grade was probably the saddest for me. The kids gave us cards and some even were crying when we left. The final class I had was the 7th grade class. This was the most energetic class I worked with and also the hardest to motivate to get anything done. It was nice to see during the show and tell period that the in fact had been working and had a final project. During the 1st week it appeared it was going to be almost impossible to get these kids to do anything computer related. We said our goodbyes to the 7th graders and that completed our final class of teaching. In the evening we enjoyed a nice dinner that tasted amazing after having the same dishes for 2 weeks. The food at Cinnamon Bay was not that bad but it was certainly nice to have a change and enjoy a nice meal on our final night. I really enjoyed this trip and the memories made on it--but I'm excited to come home tomorrow!

Today was our last day teaching the kids, and it was sort of bittersweet. On the one hand, we are all glad to be going home to our nice, air-conditioned, bug-free houses, but on the other, we have all grown attached to the kids and they have grown attached to us. We tried to do a show and tell to demonstrate what the kids had made in the last two weeks, but it was very chaotic, so in the last fifteen minutes, we all just took pictures and said goodbye. Saying goodbye was probably the hardest part. When we left the second fourth grade class, many of the kids started sobbing. When we left the fifth grade class, half of them followed us up the street to the annex to put off the inevitable goodbye. Over the past two weeks, the kids have opened up to us about their lives and their families, and it really threw our comparative privilege into sharp relief. While for us, these past two weeks might have been extremely unpleasant and bug-filled, they might have been transformative for the kids, and that was what I think kept all of us going while we were killing cockroach after cockroach.

ThursdayToday my group didn't have to teach until 12 so we got up had breakfast and then went to the beach at Cinnamon Bay. We headed for the school a little early to get smoothies before teaching. We had a great day teaching and we finished our plant projects with the 4th graders and worked with the 7th graders on their Scratch projects. After that we came back and Nicole, Erin and I went on a hike to Waterlemon Cay and at the top we saw the ruins of Murphy’s house. It has beautiful views and was very memorable. It was a great day!

Friday Well, it’s over. We made it! There was definitely a lot of learning done by everyone. Sometimes the lesson is as simple as “wow, I made it without a warm shower or a bathroom or any privacy”, and other times the lesson is as complicated and moving as “wow, we have so much, they have so little, I am so lucky, I’m going to make a point to make the world a better place.” My most important belief in all of this is that young people have so much to offer the world, yet we don’t often put them in positions to discover what they have to give. Service is great, but sharing intellect is something very special. This trip always motivates me to do it again. You have to see it to believe it. Unfortunately, even the stories they will share with you at home won’t do justice to the events. Everyone gets something out of being here. Everyone learns – including me. Today was filled with celebration, photos, laughter, and some tears. The littlest students, the 4th graders, were the sweetest, with many hugs, wishes that we’ll come back next year, and long drawn-out good byes. We celebrated with a nice dinner out at the Caneel Bay resort, which is a $500+ per night resort. We had a cake for Annie, sang her happy birthday, gave her a card, and shared stories. It was a nice ending to a great trip. We are coming home with some broken XO laptops to either try to repair or salvage as parts, phones full of photos, and good memories to share. Thank you for following this blog. You’ll still see some (hopefully) reflective posts that I’ve asked some of the girls to write today. Maybe they will begin to describe the individual take-home lessons they’ve learned. Fingers crossed for smooth travels!

Wow! I cannot believe we only have one more day of teaching.Today the sophomore group had our last first period class.The fourth graders completed their plant projects on Scratch.I was so glad to see that the three children I taught were having fun and were able to program things without me giving them instructions.Tomorrow I am excited to see all the fourth graders’ projects as we are having a show-and-tell.At the end of the day I got to experience the seventh grade period because the room we teach the fifth graders in was occupied and we had to dismiss the class.Although it saddened the fifth graders that we were not having class, it was great to meet the other students. The three eighth graders I taught were very funny.They were all interested in soccer.When I asked them who their favorite soccer player was, two of the three said Lionel Messi.Since I watched the Fifa World Cup this year, I was able to start a conversation with them about the tournament.I told them that one of my favorite players was Messi and that I was sad when America lost to Germany.To make me feel better about America losing, one boy said, “At least they beat Portugal.” These little things that the students say to us make our day.For instance, today a student, named Domingo, came up to me and walked with me to our classroom.Because of things like the latter, it will definitely be hard to say goodbye to all the kids tomorrow. St. John is a beautiful island, but I have not and will not ever get used to the shrieking birds in the morning or the bugs we find in our rooms.The picturesque beaches have well made up for the bug bites, the birds, and the showers.My official bug kill count is at one cockroach, many mosquitoes, and a grasshopper.Also, I have managed to injure one of two spiders we found in the rooms.Putting the bugs aside, this experience has been wonderful and I cannot wait to tell my family and friends about all the things that have happened here.

It's hard to believe that we have one day left before our journey back home. We've had to readjust our teaching plans on several occasions, including today, when one of the classrooms we had been using all week long was suddenly reassigned for 2nd & 3rd grade testing.We were disappointed, but even more surprising was the fact that the kids were just as disappointed in having their class cancelled as we were. The anticipation of tomorrow looms large over our heads. In each of the classes, a portion of the class time will be devoted to completing their project. The second half of the class will be devoted to show and tell, when each student will be able to walk around and see what their fellow classmates have been busy creating all week long. I say anticipation looms over our heads because, as the juniors said to me in our car ride home this afternoon, it's a bittersweet moment in our time here. The girls have formed such a bond with the kids here that they hate to leave. In the same breath, they also miss home, family and friends. Truly this trip has touched each and every single one of us. I have a feeling that we will all be reflecting upon our time here for months, perhaps even years to come.

Today the juniors had the early morning class. We got up had breakfast and headed into the school. In all of our classes we are working on projects now trying to wrap them up because our time here is almost done. For me these last few days are bittersweet. I am desperately wanting to be back in my own bed but leaving these kids is very emotional. We have two days of classes left and the kids know that our time is coming to an end. This makes the focus harder because they want us to stay. For some of the kids, we are exactly what they need. These two weeks give them someone who believes in them, and they aren't ready for it to end. However, we have seen incredible progress in the projects and the attitudes of the kids. A lot of the kids who originally seemed like they didn't want to participate in the fifth grade class are now leading the group. Seeing these results are what this trip is all about. Yes, we got to see incredible beaches and work on our tan lines, but we also are having an impact on these kids. We went in with enthusiasm and in turn most of them are coming out of it with enthusiasm. With only two more days of teaching we have to start our goodbyes - but a lot of them will manage to stay in touch. Year 2 has been just like year 1- hard at times but ultimately so rewarding. The next few days are going to be very hard, but I don't think we will complain too much about our air conditioned bedrooms when we get home!